Nothing Important Here

OoC: Okay, to break in my new char, this will be a 1-on-1 fight. I'll be using Summer and Metanth, clicky the siggy.

BiC:

A green car zoomed past, making its way to some unknown part of the city. On the sidewalk, beside the street, Summer walked lazily along. She wasn’t in any hurry to get anywhere. In fact, she didn’t even where to do. However, the dragonlit wrapped around her, Metanth, held his head up high. He cocked it side to side, his slitted eyes taking in everything. I don’t see why we’re here. We need to find some clues, the small dragon complained.

Summer just sighed and looked into his eyes, Come on, we don’t even know where to start looking for clues, let alone who attacked the dragonlit nest. Tall, generic building surrounded the two. Rei City was about just a little bigger than her home Cielo but hardly any different. People of different races, mainly humans and elves, walked along the sidewalk with her. A few gave her curious looks but never for long. It wasn’t like she was the only drawynn they had ever seen. She yawned as they past by a larger office building.

The only way to find clues is to look for them, Metanth chirped. Summer could feel his agitation and was used to it. He was agitated virtually 24/7.

The drawynn sighed, Seriously, we don’t even have a place to stay. The few salas I have won’t last forever. We need to concentrate on that just a tad more. The metal dragonlit shifted on her shoulders, clearly disappointed with her reasoning. The sun shone brightly on Rei City, heating up the cement and providing more than enough warmth for its residents. Summer stopped for a second and looked up into the blue sky, shielding her eyes from the glare. Not a cloud showed itself, just clear blue with a bright light. The female took a long, deep breath, Maybe we can find some other drawynns at the temple.

It didn’t take long to find the temple as it was the largest, in area, building in the city. And in most cities. Particularly, it was the Temple of Lynne, goddess of light. The outside of the building was made of rust red stone. The bulk of it was a large dome but had several square parts branching off of it. Not many people were here at this moment as it was the middle of the afternoon. Most people came in the morning or during lunch. The red doors were wide open, a sign that anyone was welcome within. Taking the invitation, the two entered.

The small, square entryway opened into a large antechamber, the large dome. The inside was even more solemn than the outside. A large, golden carpet lay at the center, circular in shape. The outside of the walls were made of layered ledges, each bearing several candles to light the room. Four statues of the light goddess were placed beside around the room. Only two people were paying their respects, the rest that rushed around wore temple garments. The statues themselves portrayed a woman dressed in simple robes. Her hands were spread out in front of her, creating the ever-magnificent scene of the goddess giving light to the world.

However, Summer and Metanth looked around the antechamber with disappointment. There aren’t any drawynns here, the dragonlit growled.

Certainly looks that way, she replied then shrugged, Oh well, guess we have to try somewhere else.

How can you be so carefree about this? Metanth asked furiously, jabbing his face in her’s.

The drawynn simply smiled and patted him on the head, Come on, Metanth, no need to have a cow. It’s not like we lost something important by coming here. She could feel the dragonlit’s suppressed anger. The spell-caster hoped no one came near them at that moment or they might be a source for the little dragon to release his anger on. Unfortunately, it seemed that someone had come in at that time.

ooc: I will join, and I will use Nyle.

Bic:
Nodding his head to the tune that was playing through the ear piece he had in, Nyle looked left and right at the people next to him on the pavement. Carefully he drew the miniature screen from his side pocket, and turned it on. For a moment there was nothing but static on the screen, but after a few moments it disappeared, revealing a picture of a man, whose hair was black in color, and also dressed in the robes of a temple priest.

“Yaran Geoth, a once convicted serial killer, now on the run from the Rei City police department. He was caught by an unnamed man, three bullet wounds in chest, and his body was found in the local Temple of Lynne.” The soldier said softly under his breath. Chuckling softly, Nyle pocketed the screen again. Bounties that contained bullet wounds were usually his own doing, and the silver haired soldier wasn’t one to disappoint. Looking left and right through the mass of buildings, he saw the one he was looking for, a rust red building, the biggest of all the buildings. Smiling at the bounty he would be collecting, Nyle made his way through the masses of people towards the building.

Hunting through time has its rewards, such as the other can’t help and get in my way… the soldier thought, looking at the temple in front of him. He was the only one of the five who liked to work alone, and he preferred it that way. Other people meant more risks and a higher chance of getting caught. Contemplating this for a while, he eventually arrived at the temple doors, which were spread wide open.

It’s like he’s just going out of his way to show me to him… Nyle thought, looking at the large dome above him. Inside the place was much quieter than the bustling noises of the street, and there were hardly any people inside. Unplugging the earpiece from his ear, Nyle found the man he was looking for almost immediately. He was sat at the altar with another man, paying respects to a statue in front of them. With a swift movement he brought out his left leg gun, and lazily fired off three shots, each striking the man in the back. At the sound of the gun and the sight of the dead man people began to scream, running for the exit. Shoving his pistol back into its holster, he once again took out the screen and used it to take a photo, proof that he had been the one to kill Yaran. Once the picture had been took a three figure sum of money appeared on the screen, making Nyle smile with glee. Turning to leave, he pushed the screen back into his pocket, and without noticing walked straight into someone.

“Watch where your walking,” the soldier said gruffly, but as he looked up he saw that the person had done it intentionally, and was about to punch him in the face. Dropping to his knees, he stuck out his leg, tripping the person over, and before they could recover he had a pistol to their head.

“Move and your brains will be all over the floor,” Nyle growled. Taking the chance he studied his opponent, it was a woman, with brown blonde hair, but her face was hidden since it was to the floor. There was a growling sound from the woman, and moments before Nyle could investigate to what it was a silver blur jumped at him, knocking him to the floor.

OoC: Just to clear this up, Summer wouldn't purposely run into someone and punch them. In fact, she hardly does anything physical with an opponent. Metanth is the P.O.ed one.

BiC:

As Summer started to fall, Metanth had jumped off her shoulder and landed near her. When the strange man put his gun to her head, the dragonlit took the opportunity to launch himself at the murder. He hit the man with such force that it knock him to the ground. The man let out a small growl of surprise as the metal dragon stuck his face right in the stranger’s face. Metanth dug his claws into the man’s overcoat and into his shirt, hitting something that wouldn’t let his talons through unless he scratched at it. What are you doing!? he hissed at the mysterious person. A hand came around to grab his neck, but the dragonlit easily pulled his head back. Then he went forward again and sunk his teeth into the man’s hand. The being said nothing and started to wave his hand around to get Metanth off.

“Metanth,” Summer said in a disappointed tone. Great, now this person will probably attack us. Good job, she sighed. Still, it had been pretty surprising when he just waltzed in and shot one of the temple priests. The furious dragonlit leaped off the man and flew back over to the drawynn, curling around her defensively. The man speedily stood up and pointed a gun at Summer’s head. Metanth growled and she took a step back, “Woah, woah, no need to get angry.”

“What are you doing here?” the man demanded.

The female pointed to herself, “What am I doing here?” Then she turned around to look at the body of the priest, which was sitting in a large pool of warm blood, staining the golden carpet. She made an animated point to the corpse, “You’re the one who just came in and shot someone. And it’s a treasonous crime to kill a temple priest, I might add.”

He brought the pistol to his side, “I simply executed a criminal.”

Liar, Metanth said venomously, I’m sure you just came to kill someone who looked easy. The soldier didn’t move a muscle but just stared at the two.

Summer sighed, Metanth, it’s probably not a good idea to tick off the guy with the gun. Although, she had a hard time believing him, too. People are screened for the position of temple priest. Any criminal wouldn’t have been granted the job and ones that were on the run would’ve been apprehended immediately. How would this person know something like that? The drawynn looked at him. His attire: a silver overcoat, a matching silver scabbard, black shirt, pants, and boots, certainly didn’t make him look like anything with law-enforcement. Finally, she decided to ask him, “How do I know you aren’t lying?”

His grey eyes were a great contrast to her pink ones, “It doesn’t matter, I already have the bounty.” He turned and walked towards the wide open doors.

He seems like he’s hiding something, the dragonlit observed. The girl agreed and they weren’t about to let him get away until they knew he was innocent. Holding her left hand over her right with a gap in-between, she began to summon the fire element. All the candles in the room provided a large amount for her, adding to Tiamat’s own strength. The magic consolidated into a small, orange orb. The compact fire made a great bomb.

“You know what?” Summer yelled to the man, causing him to stop and turn, “I think you’re lying.” She brought her arm back and threw the orb at him, “Fire Bomb!” Whether it hit him or not, the mage couldn’t tell. But the smoke from the explosion filled the entryway and the antechamber, restricting vision. Be ready, she told the dragonlit as two pairs of eyes scanned the room for movement.

“So, you want to fight a soldier?” the man asked. Suddenly, a spray of bullets emerged from the haze. Summer dropped to the floor, barely avoid having her head blown across the room. The drawynn saw a shadow run around the edge of the room, a gun pointed in her direction.

Another loud cry of gunfire filled the room. “I don’t think so,” she muttered. “Wind Suppress!” she cried, making the air between her and the soldier denser. Then she jumped back, dodging the bullets that bore into the ground where she had been standing. I really shouldn't be picking fights with a guy with guns.

Shooting off another burst of bullets with his pistols, Nyle took cover behind one of the statues, waiting for a perfect moment. After a few minutes the haze had nearly cleared, and the woman and the creature were becoming visible. She couldn’t see him but was she was looking everywhere in the room for him. Laughing, the soldier pushed one of his guns back into its holster and pushed a hand into the back of his coat, grabbing the handle of his larger gun. With slight difficulty he managed to get a stun missile out of the top barrel, and slipped the missile into his sleeve. Shoving his other gun into its own holster, he put up his hands and walked out, showing that he was unarmed.

“I surrender, I don’t fare so well against those who wield magic,” the soldier lied, trying to get as near to the woman as possible.

“How do I know your not lying?” the woman said skeptically.

“If I was you would have a stun missile at your feet and it would be leaking a neurotoxin that would paralyze most of your body,” Nyle replied coolly, revealing his actual plan to the woman. Luckily enough she didn’t catch on.

“Why did you really kill that temple priest?”

“For the money involved, look,” the soldier replied. Digging in his pocket he brought out the screen again, switching it on. Once again it showed the picture of Yaran, but this time it was the picture taken by Nyle, with the words ‘Bounty collected by Nyle Precor, aka Soldier 1875, sum of money is 630 gold coins transferred to overseas account’ written at the bottom. Taking a step forward, he showed the woman the screen. The creature growled as he neared, but with a few words from the woman it didn’t move. She took the screen from the soldier, and after a few moments of studying it handed it back. As she did Nyle put the first part of his plan into action, dropping the missile out of his sleeve as he accepted the screen, making it land directly at the woman’s feet.

“So your Nyle Precor, and I suppose that your story checks out,” the woman said, eyeing the man again.

“Yes it does, and what is your name?” Nyle replied, talking like a robot. The woman was quite beautiful, and Nyle was only a man.

“Summer Heil, and this little creature is Metanth, a dragonlit,” the woman replied. Putting his final part of the plan into action, he began to walk towards the door, bringing out his left leg gun as he did. Turning round, the woman was talking with the creature again, and didn’t notice that Nyle had drawn his gun again until she looked up.

“By the way, I wouldn’t look down,” the soldier laughed, and fired off a single round. The bullet hit the missile squarely in the missile, setting off the gas inside, spraying it upwards at the woman and the creature. Unfortunately she had the sense to not look down, and covered her mouth with her sleeve, coughing as the gas stung at her eyes. Dodging left again, the soldier let off three burst of bullets from his gun, but with the gas now clouding his sight of the woman and the creature, none of them struck true. Before he could bring out his other gun to shoot there was a snapping sound and the dragonlit shot forward, jumping onto Nyle once more. It scratched at his face, forcing him to drop his gun to grab the creature and throw it off. Before he could deal with it in his own gun slinging ways, there was a shout from the woman, and the missile was flung at him, still leaking gas. It landed at his feet, spewing gas at him. Coughing, the soldier pulled up his shirt to cover his mouth, and grabbed the small missile, chucking it out of the temple doors, out into the street. Looking round, he saw that the woman and dragonlit were gone.

“Clever trick, using my own weapon against me,” Nyle shouted, picking up his gun from the floor. The two wouldn’t have left the temple, and were probably watching him. Smiling he dropped the empty cartridge from his left gun, and pushed it into his cloak, reloading on a cartridge ready on his back. He shoved the gun back into it’s holster once more, and brought out his bigger weapon. Grasping it with both hands, he readied to use it.

“I don’t miss with this one girlie, and I only need to see you once so I can blow yours and that stupid little creature’s brain out,” Nyle shouted, looking round for his hidden enemy.

OoC: Hey, we both have a Final Fantasy sig and avvy now. ^_^

BiC:

Hold still! He’s gonna find us! Summer cried to the dragonlit. She had both arms wrapped around Metanth’s body though his head and tail still whipped around in an attempt to get free.

Let him find us. I’ll rip out his eyes for calling me a stupid little creature! he hissed. He wriggled his sinewy body to try and escape the drawynn’s grasp. The only thing on the little dragon’s mind was tearing apart the soldier, Nyle. However, she wouldn’t let go and held on to him as though her life depended on it, which it somewhat did. The two were hiding behind one of the statues of Lynne.

No, no. Bad dragonlit, the female said to Metanth as though he were a puppy. The metal dragonlit stop squirming and turned his head to glare at her. Well, it got you’re attention, she smiled. Look, we’ve got to work together if we’re going to get out of here alive. Okay? He nodded his head in agreed, his eyes still seething with anger. Summer’s own pink eyes rolled to the top of her head as she tried to think of something, anything. It would’ve been better if she could see exactly where his and what he’s doing but she dare not risk that. She liked her brains. The mage sighed, Okay, Metanth, I’m going to let you go but you can’t attack him just yet.

The slitted eyes avoided her gaze, Fine. The girl’s arms let loose and he slowing crawled and sat upon her shoulder. Now, what do you want me to do?

She chuckled silently, the dragonlit never missed a thing. You blend into the statue much better then I do. I need you to poke your head around so we can see what he’s doing. Metanth nodded again and clambered onto the statue, much like a lizard, and slowly peered around it. He had only a small piece of his head sticking out so that Nyle wouldn’t see them. Summer closed her eyes and smiled. At first, she obviously couldn’t see anything but suddenly, her world lit up. Seeing through the dragonlit’s own eyes was a delightful experience for her. He saw everything with so much more color and detail. Compared to him, the world was bland and unattractive through her eyes. But right now, both of them were focused on the bounty hunter. He wasn’t moving to much, just intently observing the room. His shotgun with two barrels was readied in his hands. It won’t be long before he started to hunt around the antechamber for us, the drawynn stated to the dragonlit.

Yes. So you better do whatever you’re thinking, Metanth replied. Summer giggled slightly. Since they partly shared minds, he always knew when she was about to do something.

Just watch, she said cryptically. The spell-caster called forth the earth element, still watching Nyle through the metal dragon’s eyes. The ground started to rumble greatly. The soldier, not sure of what was going on, stayed his ground. Too bad for him, she thought, then cried out loud, “Earth Shatter!” Immediately, large spikes shot out of the ground around the gun-wielder. They completely surrounded him and met at the top haphazardly, some breaking into others to create a somewhat evil looking prison. Summer opened her own eyes, stood up, and walked out from behind the statue. Metanth flapped his wings and flew over to his partner, landing on her shoulder. He didn’t curl around the drawynn like usual, suspecting that the man would probably get out of the earthen trap. “So, what do you think?” she asked the dragonlit proudly.

Not bad, he admitted, But I wouldn’t count that soldier out just yet. As if he heard them, a loud shotgun blast rang from the jail and a piece of rock was blown out of one of the spikes. Told you, the little dragon stated.

“Wow, persistent,” the girl commented. However, she shrugged and smiled. At least this guy was testing her magic well. She held her hands in a familiar position and once more called the fire element. This time, the fire from the candles went out as the drawynn summoned their fire, leaving the light sources as the sunlight from the open door and the glow of the orange orb in her hands. The gun blasts continued, a large opening now appearing the stone.

“I hope you didn’t think it would be that easy, girlie,” Nyle said smugly.

Girlie, that’s definitely a new nickname, she though absentmindedly. Then to reply, “Naw. If it was that easy, you wouldn’t be much of a soldier. I’ve got to admit, fighting a guy with missiles and guns wasn’t my idea of a good day.” The mage held the fiery orb in one hand. “Fire bomb!” she shouted once more and threw the spell through the opening and into the cage. The resulting explosion sent the top of the spikes into different directions, almost hitting Summer herself. White smoke rose through the cracks and not a sound was heard. “Come on,” she said, “I know you’re a good little soldier and wouldn’t die from that.” Mentally, Be ready to attack him when he shows himself, okay, Metanth.

ooc: yeah I noticed, and both our avy’s have guns! Wonder if Altamira does all FF sig’s like this?

Bic:

As Nyle fired another hole through his earth prison, he saw what the woman was doing, and threw himself to the floor. A second later another orb of fire passed through a hole in the roof of the makeshift prison, blowing off much of the ceiling, covering the soldier with dust. Pressing his face deeper into his cloak, he waited until everything quieted down. After a few moments the air was quiet, and the prison was still intact, except for the roof.

“Come on, I know you’re a good little soldier and wouldn’t die from that,” the woman shouted suddenly. Smiling at the taunts, the soldier kept still, intent on making the woman think he was dead.

If she’s soft hearted she will think I’m dead, and surprise is one of the things I like the most… Nyle thought to himself. Minutes passed and nothing made a sound. Scratching his head, the solider arranged himself to look like the blast had killed him, piling some rubble onto his body and cutting himself with the edge of a piece of glass that had somehow gotten into the prison. Suddenly there was the sound of footsteps, and Nyle closed his eyes, completing the illusion of being dead. The footsteps continued, and were followed by a quick jump as Summer jumped into the prison. There was a sudden gasp, proving what Nyle had thought. There was a sound of hurried discussion between her and the dragonlit. Suddenly something tried to drag him upright, and Nyle made his move.

“Illusion is one of my more subtle qualities,” the soldier said, and grabbed the woman who was trying to get him to stand up. The dragonlit was stood on the floor next to them, but before it could react Nyle stuck Summer in between them, the cold barrel of his left leg gun to her head.

“Tell it to back off or I shoot a 9mm bullet into your head, turning your brain into a messier version of scrambled eggs,” the soldier said coldly. The woman didn’t say anything, but a moment later the dragon jumped, its body sailing over Summer’s shoulder, aimed at Nyle’s face. Smiling, Nyle turned his gun round from the woman’s head and fired, the bullets striking the beast in its throat. But instead of passing straight through there was a sudden bang, and the bullets ricocheted off the dragonlit. The blow didn’t go unnoticed, and knocked the creature to the floor, dazed from the shots. Before Nyle could contemplate what had just happened, the woman struck fowl, bringing a fist into the area between Nyle’s legs. The blow made the soldier’s face go purple, making him drop his gun to clutch the damaged area.

“No…fair…low…blow” Nyle spurted out. Before the woman replied he grabbed his sword from its scabbard with his one free hand, and stuck it into the girl’s leg. She screamed, but after a millisecond she froze in time, as did the immediate area around them. Scrambling upright, he fixed another missile onto the handle of the sword, turning on the self detonate feature for 25 seconds, 4 seconds after she would be able to move again. With a jump he cleared the wall, and ducked as he landed, sticking his fingers in his ears. After a few moments time returned to its normal flow, and Summer kept on screaming. There was a sudden sound of something moving about, followed by a clatter as Glamrin hit the floor.

“Wonder where he wen-” the woman said shakily, but was cut off as the missile exploded, blowing the nearest wall of the prison off. Unsticking is fingers from his ears, the soldier looked round the corner, and saw that the entire wall next to him was gone, completely obliterated by the blast.

It was only gas, the only reason it would have exploded is if something lit it… Nyle thought to himself, drawing both his leg guns as he prepared to enter the prison again.

The explosion of the stun missile sent Summer to the floor, releasing a new wave of pain from her wounded leg. She quickly covered her mouth with a sleeve to avoid breathing in large quantities of the neurotoxin. There was a large, dark, and wet blotch on the right leg of her tan pants where it had soaked up some of the blood. As her mouth was covered with her right hand, the drawynn held her left over the wound and mentally cried, Light Revive! A white glow appeared around both her hand and from under the pant leg. While the stab wound still hurt, it would only be a few minutes before it was completely healed.

Summer! came a distressed call. Metanth was sitting on the floor right outside of the gas’ radius. He cursed himself for cowardice but knew that the poison would only make it so he couldn’t help her anymore than he could out here.

The mage sighed in relief, her dragonlit wasn’t hurt. I’m okay, she replied, But I don’t think I’ll be able to move until my leg is healed and... this gas is making it hard to move. Not to mention it stung her eyes as well. Metanth, can you see where Nyle is? The small dragon slowly advanced around the entire outer ring of the gaseous perimeter but saw no one.

He must be in the gas with you, the metal creature relayed.

The spell-caster smile evilly, That’ll work great. The dragonlit simply replied with a mental uh oh. Oh, come on, she prodded, My ideas aren’t that bad. Then she told him her plan.

You really think that will work? Metanth questioned with doubt. Truly, the drawynn came up with some weird and dangerous brainstorms.

Summer waved a hand, Don’t worry but we need to be quick before he decided to jump in here and make breakfast out of my head. Calling more of the wind element, she waved it around herself to clear some of the gas away. Figuring the soldier saw the movement, the girl quickly cast the Wind Suppress spell, turning the air into a dense shield so the gas couldn’t pass through. Suddenly, Nyle was standing right in front of her, his pistols aimed at her head. Now! she yelled. Taking the sign, Metanth blew a small stream of fire into the neurotoxin. Immediately, the flames spread throughout the gas, igniting the rock prison. Then, the gas exploded, sending the prison everywhere and the three fighters in three directions. Oww, the drawynn complained as she laid on the floor, not really believing what had just happened.

The metal dragonlit stood up quickly, as he was the least injured by the blast, and flew over to Summer, landing on her chest. You could’ve killed all of us, he stated in disbelief. He sighed, trying to understand how they became bonded.

The female giggled, Yeah, but I didn’t. The small dragon sighed more deeply. Then she sat up, causing Metanth to fly up and land on her shoulder, and managed to stand on her feet. Then a groan came form the right of her and she saw Nyle lying on the ground. However, he moved and propped himself on his elbows, coughing. Resilient, she commented once more and darted over to the entryway, pausing to look at the temple. The once-beautiful golden carpet was now torn apart and bits of it where on fire. A few of the candles had been relit by the explosion and one statue of the light goddess lay in a crumbled pile. Another moan escaped the soldier as he climbed to his knees. “Better get going,” she stated and ran out the wide open doors.

The sun felt glorious on her skin, despite the heat that the blast had created. The sky was still blue without a cloud. Except now several people where gawking as they stood on the grass that surrounded the temple. Evidently, they had been somewhat watching the fight from the outside. A few even took steps back as the drawynn walked forward. Then, sirens were easily heard as black and white police cars drove up the Temple of Lynne. Jeez, now the cops get here, Summer thought. However as the law enforcement leaped out of their cars, mostly humans and elves in red uniforms, they pointed guns at her.

“Drop to the ground!” one commanded.

Great, this totally figures, she decided, Metanth agreeing.

Coughing to get the dust out of his lungs, Nyle watched the woman go, preparing to strike at her back as she left. But moments before he was about to shoot the sound of sirens was heard, making the soldier holster both his weapon. The first rule that one of his friends called Valion had stated was that under no circumstances could he be allowed to be caught by the police in any place, because it might rupture time flow, or something to that since Nyle hadn’t really been paying attention. Sifting through all the junk in his pockets, he found what he was looking for, a silver police badge. Jumping up, he dusted himself clean and walked out of the temple.

“Drop to the ground!” shouted a man in red uniform, pointing a gun directly at him. Resisting the urge to fire bullets into each and every one of the officer’s head, he held up the badge, the light from the sun glinting off the silver object. Summer was already laid on the ground, Metanth on top of her.

“Wan City Police department, ive been working undercover for three years on this operation, and this dumb girl and her scaly pet came and ruined it! The dead monk is Yaran Geoth, the top of the wanted list for the killings in this city and Wan, but this idiot came and nearly killed me, mistaking the monk for an innocent,” Nyle said casually, nudging the woman’s head to make a point. With a flick he tossed the badge to one of the officers, who missed it and picked it up from the floor, rubbing it on his shirt to get any marks off.

“She is to be detained and then sent to a militia operated prison, and put the creature to sleep,” Nyle said, and began walking away.

“Hey wait a moment!” one of the officers shouted, making Nyle stop in his tracks. Reaching for the two guns on his legs, he prepared to waste the lot of them.

“You forgot you badge!” the officer said, and threw it back to him. Sighing, the soldier turned round and caught the badge, and was once again greeted by the dragonlit jumping at him. Yelling, Nyle threw himself backwards, letting the creature pass over him, and brought out a gun. Moments before he fired it, the creature was shot with several bullets, all knocking it away from him. Turning over, he saw that it was the officers that had fired, all holding their guns pointed at the dragonlit.

“Okay boys that was some good shooting, thanks for the help,” Nyle shouted, applauding the police for their unwitting help. He turned to leave again when he remembered something; Glamrin was still in the temple.

“Hold it, ive forgot my sword,” the soldier said, slapping a hand to his head. Not waiting for an answer, he ran back to the temple, its doors still open. Looking round, he saw Glamrin’s hilt poking out of a pile of earth in the remnants of the earth prison. Grabbing it with one hand, he sheathed it once more and turned to leave, only to see Summer stood at the entrance, the doors closed behind her.

“How come you weren’t shot by the police?” Nyle asked, using idle chit chat to cover his hand going for his guns.

Wow, he’s cocky, Summer observed as Nyle turned and walked back into the temple to retrieve his sword. Metanth agreed with a growl, standing up in the spot where the police had shot him to. Follow him, the drawynn commanded. The dragonlit started to protest but, after Summer convinced him, he crawled through the grass like a snake. Luckily, it seemed the cops had forgotten about him.

“Alright, ma’am, you are under arrest for the attempted murder of a police officer,” one of the sheriffs stated, walking over to her. She couldn’t help but laugh a little. They actually believed that the soldier was a officer from Wan City.

Okay, time for a little strategy, the mage decided. Looking up at the officer that was headed her way, she pointed past him into the sky and yelled, “What is that!” The oldest trick in the book yet all the cops turned and watched for something. Completely amazed that it had actually worked, she almost forgot to get up and run off.

The girl quickly yet quietly stood up and hopped off, reaching the doors as soon as one of the officers shouted, “Wait!” Pushing a button right inside the entryway, the mechanical doors began to close on their own. The spell-caster sighed in relief. Then she heard a shing of metal and saw the bounty hunter returning his sword to its sheath.

He turned, saw her, and asked, “How come you weren’t shot by the police?”

She answered with a genuine smile, “Funny story, turns out the cops are more gullible than I imagined. You know, I can’t believe that they actually thought you were an officer from Wan City. Pretty creative. So if you told them that little lie, why did you show me the bounty reward?”

“Who says I wasn’t lying to you?” he questioned back. Suddenly, he pointed his guns right at her head. But instead of firing, he stood quite still as the soldier had the sharp point of a tail aimed at his throat.

Didn’t forget about me, did you? the metal dragonlit asked. Nyle chuckled.

The drawynn waved her finger at him like the bounty hunter was a bad boy, “You’re slipping in your old age. You almost sent me to prison and had Metanth killed. What are you hiding?”

“For me to know and you to find out,” he muttered. He spun backwards, barely avoiding the dragonlit’s tail slicing his neck, and fired a bullet into him at point-blank range. Metanth was knocked to the floor, now really ticked at being shot so many times. But before the little dragon could counter, the soldier already sent several shots off to Summer.

The drawynn charged at the oncoming fire, pointed at the bullets and shouting, “Water Surge!” A large vortex of water sprung from her hand and engulfed the flying metal. She then guided it into the wall, depositing the bullets and finally directed towards Nyle. The soldier jumped out of the way as the whirlpool crashed into the ground where he had been. He tried to take aim again but was interrupted as the small creature leaped upon him, biting and jabbing with his tail. Nyle managed to knock him away but the distraction at given the mage enough time. Holding her right arm in the air, ice daggers formed around it. “Ice Breaker!” she envoked, throwing her arm down and flinging the ice shrapnel at the dirty soldier.

But as Nyle rose, Summer observed that he had drawn his sword. Then he slammed it down into the ground. She could feel magic radiate from it and managed to ask, “Wha-,” then time froze for twenty seconds and unfroze, “-t? Arrgh!” The drawynn fell backwards as blood ran from a bullet wound on her right arm and leg. Calling on the light, she whispered, “Light Revive,” speeding the restoration of the holes. But it seemed for not as the soldier stood over her, gun pointed at her head.

His breath heavy from moving through time a second time, Nyle wiped his brow with his free hand, careful not to let his other hand move.

“There are things in play that don’t concern you, my presence here is becoming more and more noticed as we speak,” the soldier grunted. The woman just shook her head at the fact.

“Why does your presence here matter? You have already killed someone, that won’t get you anymore noticed,” Summer replied.

“You don’t understand, my being here in this time can jeopardize everything,” Nyle replied.

“What does that mean?”

“Nothing to you, but if I stay any longer you will regret...” Nyle started, but was cut off as the sound of bullets being fired interrupted him. Turning his head, the soldier saw that a small hole had appeared in the door. The cops were trying to shoot their way into the building. Intent to finish his opponent while he had time, he turned his gaze back to the woman, and saw that she was gone, and so was the gun in his right holster. Swearing, he looked round for the girl and her dragon. A flick of her hair gave her away from behind a large piece of statue rubble.

“Give me back my gun!” Nyle shouted furiously, and blasted off round after round into Summer’s hiding place. In reply there was the sound of his own gun being fired at him, but the bullets missed him by a few meters.

“The recoil action makes it hard to shoot,” the soldier laughed, and began to slowly walk towards the woman’s hiding place. Another burst of bullets was shot at him, all on target. Smiling, Nyle spread his arms open wide and watched as the bullets hit, bouncing off the bullet proof armor.

“My own weapons are really bad against me,” Nyle chuckled. Sprinting forward, he jumped round the corner, finding Summer whacking his gun against the wall.

“It appears you ran out of bullets, while I have 146 left,” the solider chuckled, and aimed his gun at his opponents head, firing off a stream of bullets. But before they had even left the gun Metanth was once again in front of Summer, using his own bullet proof body to shield her. The bullets glanced off his body, leaving Summer unharmed. Before Nyle could react the dragonlit attacked, knocking him to the floor, pinning him down in a most uncomfortable position.

“Your weapons are really bad against a dragon with a thick skin,” the woman chuckled. Walking up to the soldier, she kicked his remaining gun from his hand, sending it skidding along the floor to rest with the other gun. Nyle tried to move, but Metanth gave a low growl, indicating that if he tried something very bad was going to happen to him. Without blinking, Nyle glared at the creature, slowly pulling the screen out of his pocket with his free hand. Flicking the on switch with his thumb, he kept his gaze fixed with the creature, and before it could stop him, rammed the screen into its face, the glare from the screen temporarily blinding it. Summer had been watching the cops trying to break through the door, but turned round as she heard Metanth shriek with pain, and saw Nyle diving for his guns. Jumping to the floor, Nyle slid like a greased pole, grabbing both his guns, and fired off as many rounds from the one with bullets as he could while he was still in motion on the floor, all aimed for Summer.

The drawynn heard the shots fired and saw them all streak right at her. He has some good aim, was all Summer could think of for there wasn’t enough time to cast a spell or move out of the way. Then, a growl resounded in her head and Metanth leaped onto her shoulder and cast his innate spell, Metal Shield. She felt a heaviness as metal covered both her and the dragonlit, the bullets bouncing right off them. Wow, just in time, the mage breathed in relief.

I would never allow someone like him to win, the metal dragon said viciously. He released the shield and, suddenly, his own breathing became labored.

Summer turned to regard him, Are you okay?

Metanth, however, kept his sights on Nyle, I am fine. But that spell takes much of my energy; we need to end this soon. Summer returned her attention to the soldier who was now standing on his feet. His face showed annoyance at both who he was fighting and who was trying to break into the temple.

“All you did was buy some time,” he stated and started run around her, spraying bullets. But now the two had time to react. The small dragon flew forward into the rain of metal. The mage casted her Water Surge spell, using the vortex to surround Metanth while keeping him completely dry in the middle. The bounty hunter ducked out of the water’s way but the metal dragonlit charged through the vortex and collided with Nyle in the chest. The two fell in a tangled heap to the ground, the soldier trying to get rid of Metanth while the creature tried to stay near. Fortunately for the man, he managed to push the dragonlit far enough away to fire his pistols at him. But the grey dragon wasn’t surprised and breathed his fire on the bullets, causing them to melt in mid-air.

More shots were fired but not from Nyle. What once was a crack was now a gap between the two doors of the Temple of Lynne, barely small enough to keep the police out. Metanth heard the soldier curse under his breath. Summer bounced back and forth on her feet, trying to think of something. “Stop!” she shouted to both of them, causing the two males to give her a strange look. Without explaining, she gathered the rest of the fire in the temple, creating completely darkness except for the ray from the door, and launched it at the cops. A medium-sized explosion occurred but it was the smoky cover she was looking for. The spell-caster ran over to one of the back doors that led into temple priest quarters. She waved to Nyle, “Come on, it’s a back door.” Her dragonlit flew over but the bounty hunter gave her a questioning look. “Don’t you know what a back door is?” she genuinely asked.

“Of course I know what it is,” Nyle shot back, sounding slightly insulted, “What I don’t know is why.”

The murmur of people became louder. “That’s the why,” the drawynn replied, pointing. Nyle took a quick look at the doors before dashing over to her. She opened the door and they both ran into a room. It was lavishly decorated, despite supposed priestly humbleness. A large, round carpet adorned the circular room’s floor while the walls were covered in expensive painting. The bed itself was covered in fine blankets. But none of that really concerned the three beings. Darting her eyes around, Summer spied another door. They entered that one, which led to a small hallway and, ultimately, outside. The fresh air always felt wonderful to the girl, no matter what. “Woo, that was close,” she stated with a smile.

Do you think this is wise? Metanth asked, eyeing Nyle with suspicion.

Apparently, the soldier was thinking similarly, “Why did you help me?”

“Isn’t obvious?” she replied, “You said that if you get captured, something... bad will happen. At least, I think you said something like that.”

The time flow may have already been distorted, but hopefully not that much… Nyle thought to himself. With a click he dropped the two empty cartridges from his guns, and with a flick shoved them into the back of his coat, reloading them. Roughly shoving them back into their holsters, the soldier turned his attention back to Summer, who was once again talking with Metanth, who was curled round her body. Hating what he was about to do, he extended a hand to her.

“You helped me, and in the ways of Armgron any opposing solider who helps you is accounted as a friend, and also gains a gun call,” Nyle grunted, his gaze cast down. A few seconds of silence passed, and then he felt something grab his hand. Looking up, he saw that it was the dragonlit, his tail wrapped round his hand. Satisfied that his debt was now taken care of, he turned to leave.

“Wait! What’s a gun call?” Summer shouted suddenly, making Nyle stop in his tracks.

“It means I owe you a favor, which can be paid at any time. It is how many of the wars were won, because of gun calls,” the soldier said silently, not bothering to turn around. Pulling up his hood, Nyle continued to walk away, heading in the direction of the setting sun.

“Message received, distorted from interference,” a voice chimed in his pocket. Yanking the screen from his pocket, he watched as a video message played out. On the screen was a white haired angel, his wings pushed out and his face red.

“What do you think you… doing? I specifically said that… the time stream… cause rips in creation! …killed forty police officers for killing someone… Summer Heil…” the angel shouted through the screen, his voice occasionally just a bit of static, but Nyle got the message. Reacting with as much speed as possible, he turned and ran back to the woman. Grabbing her by the arm, he took out Glamrin with his one free arm.

“I thought you owed me a favor!” the woman shouted, kicking out at him. Paying no heed to the blows, he stuck the sword in the ground with all his strength, sending 3 waves of silver energy coursing across the pavement. Letting go of the woman, he looked around him, and saw a crack in the door they had walked out of, a gun in the crack, pointed squarely at Summer.

“You either move or get shot,” Nyle grunted, pointing his sword towards the door. Turning round, she immediately noticed the gun in between the doors.

“We need to get somewhere safe, and I mean we,” the soldier grunted, grabbing Summer by the arm again. They began to run again, Nyle in the lead.

6, 5, 4… the soldier counted in his head. Stopping he gestured for the woman to hide. Ducking behind a bin, he watched as the time flow returned to normal, and three shots rang out, all aimed for where Summer had been stood.

“Dammit! Where did she go!” a voice shouted from behind the doors. There was a bang and the doors opened, revealing several armed police officers, much fiercer looking than the ones from before.

“Looks like they brought in the heavy police,” Nyle muttered, bringing out his guns again.

The heavily armed police calmly but quickly looked around the grassy area that her and Nyle had just been previously occupying. “Man, what did I do to deserve being shot at?” Summer complained out loud. Then the drawynn looked back over at the soldier. She was grateful for saving her life but, “You know, if you hadn’t lied about being an officer, they probably wouldn’t be after me anymore.”

Nyle kept watching the police intently, “I wouldn’t have had to tell them that if you hadn’t attacked me in the first place.”

The mage felt slightly foolish, “Oh, yeah, point taken. Then again, what was I suppose to think when you just waltzed into the temple and shot that guy? I mean-” She was cut off as the bounty hunter put a finger to his lips, telling her to shut up. One of the heavy officers was walking dangerously close to their hiding spot. At this range, Summer could see the bulletproof vest that thickly covered his chest. He had padding on his arms and legs, a helmet to cover his vulnerable head, and a heavy assault rifle. The policeman studied the area for a second before turning around and traveling back to his companions. The spell-caster breathed a sigh of relief. “So what now?” she asked.

This time, Nyle regarded her, “I’m not entirely sure. In order to return to my time, I have to get Glamrin back,” he once again studied the police, “But they don’t seem to be leaving anytime soon.”

“Could you maybe use that neurotoxin to paralyze them and then get your sword back?”

He rubbed his chin, trying to think more, “That could cause even more time disruption. Damage has already been done by fighting with you and even more when I saved you.”

“What?!” Summer said a little more loudly then she thought, “You mean I was supposed to be killed when they shot at me?”

“Yes. Now keep it down.” The drawynn sank against the bin. What a mess she had gotten into.

Maybe it would’ve been better if I had stayed in Cielo, she thought grimly and with some irony.

Something else could’ve happened there, as well, Metanth reassured, Besides, maybe he knows who attacked the nest since he is able to travel through time.

That was something she hadn’t thought of. Immediately, the drawynn sat straight up and turned to the soldier. “Nyle?” she asked, getting a hmm of acknowledgment, “You wouldn’t happen to know who attacked the dragonlit nest outside of the city of Cielo, would you?”


He turned to say something but was interrupted when an officer yelled, “There are voices over here!” Nyle cursed as the sound of footsteps quickly came to their location. He whipped out his duel pistols as leaped up to fire at them, but Summer beat him to it.

“Lightning Crack!” she shouted, sending a scattered bolt at the gunmen. She had used a stronger from of it, frantically gathering the element right before, and managed to temporarily paralyze some of them. The ones that weren’t, started shooting. Both of them leaped from behind the bin on opposite sides and ran towards the temple. The soldier made a quick detour to retrieve his sword. The policemen that posed the largest threat were either hit with one of Summer’s spells, Metanth’s fire, or a non-fatal bullet from Nyle. Once they got back inside, they locked the back door and the door to the priests’ quarters. “Well, that was fun,” the mage stated but gave the soldier a questioning look, “But what now? They probably won’t stop until I’m caught and I’ll bet they’ll eventually send an all-points bulletin to the other cities.” She sighed heavily then thought of something ironic. “Oh yeah, if they put a bounty on me, you better not try to get it or I’ll the kick the crud out of you.”

Smiling at the girls joke, Nyle looked round the room they were now stood in. There were three doors, one which they had just come through, one which led back to the battle wrecked antechamber, and another door with several silver designs on.

“Which way do we go?” Summer questioned.

“I think we try… door number 2!” the soldier replied, and ran to the silver door. With a boot it swung open, revealing a small darkened hallway.

“Keep going, I’m going to give our police friends a little detour,” Nyle said quickly. Nodding in reply, the woman started running down the hallway. Waiting till she was out of sight, the soldier dropped to the floor, pulling out three identical purple missiles. With a flick he set the times on them to 30 seconds, and then booted the antechamber door open, throwing the missiles into the room with all his might. Making sure that it looked like they had gone into the antechamber room, Nyle walked into the darkened hallway, closing the door behind him, and pushing a nearby candlestick under the door handle. He began running after Summer, and after a few moments there was the sound of another door opening and frantic yells. There was the sound of people running, and moments later the sound of an explosion.

“Hopefully down and out,” Nyle muttered to himself, and kept on running. After a few minutes of panting and trying not to fall over, the soldier finally came to another door, this one open. Walking out of the hallway, Nyle covered his eyes from the glare of the room.

“What is this place?” the soldier mumbled, looking left and right. The room was long and narrow, with 3 tables running the length of the hall, on each were several bowls of rice. On the nearest on was sat Summer and Metanth, both eating out of one of the bowls. Laughing, Nyle strode over to them, taking the bowl next to them. Pushing a few fingers in, he drew out the rice, studying it with his eye.

“What is this stuff? It doesn’t even look like food,” the soldier questioned, dropping the grains back into the bowl.

“It’s rice, very healthy stuff. How can you not know what rice is?” the woman replied between mouthfuls of the food.

“Eating isn’t something I need to do, it’s a leisure activity for people.” Nyle replied, patting his stomach.

“Every single thing has to eat, even you,” Summer replied. With hand she offered the bowl that Nyle had set down, but the soldier just pushed it away.

“I don’t need food, I don’t have a stomach for one,” Nyle said silently. The fact slightly shocked the woman, but she didn’t let it show.

“Anyway lets change the subject, what did you ask me outside when we were behind those bins?” the soldier said quickly, hoping that Summer would forget what he just said.

“I asked if…”Summer started, but was cut off as a voice chimed in his pocket, signaling that he had another message. Grunting at the inconvenience, Nyle slipped the screen out of his pocket, and watched as another message played out. It was the white haired angel again, this time he looked calmer.

“Your on your own Nyle, my predictions are making you cause the rips, so you either leave now or I come and fetch you, and I will bring the other three.” The angel said calmly. There was a brief moments of stillness and then three other faces appeared on the screen, on had black hair and green eyes, another had dark red hair and orange eyes, and the last had blue hair and blue eyes.

“Nyle, you might as well do as he says, Valion’s in a bad mood,” the red haired man shouted. The screen filled with static again, and the soldier pocketed the screen. Knowing there wasn’t any point in trying to argue with his superiors, Nyle slid Glamrin out of its sheath.

“I have to go, its either this or I get brought back forcefully,” Nyle mumbled. With a swift slash he tore a hole in thin air, which gradually got bigger, until it was slightly smaller than Nyle. Before he left there was a snapping sound, making the soldier turn round. Metanth was at his feet, his teeth sunk into his cloak.

“Before you go, please can you answer my question?” the woman pleaded.

“What was the question?” Nyle asked.

“I asked if you knew who attacked the dragonlit nest outside of the city of Cielo?” she repeated. If he did know who slaughtered the nest, that would put her and Metanth’s quest on a solid path. If not, it really wouldn’t change anything. The metal dragonlit kept his teeth in the soldier’s cloak, not letting him leave until the question was answered.

He looked up for a second, then sighed, “Sorry, but I don’t know anything about it.”

Summer just nodded, she had expected that answer. After all, if he did know, that would’ve made it too easy. But Metanth wasn’t ready to give up. Perhaps you could find out, he suggested, the silver material clamped between his fangs.

The bounty hunter shook his head, “I could but I’ve already caused enough damage to time. Telling you could cause greater rips. I am sorry.” The little dragon disappointedly released Nyle and he walked through the time portal. The vortex stayed open for only a few more seconds before closing, erasing the soldier from this time period.

“Well, that was an adventure and a half,” the drawynn stated the wolfed down the last of the rice in the bowl. “Got a free meal out of it,” she grinned at her bonded dragonlit.

He simply sighed, I can’t see how you can be so pleased with what happened. We’ve haven’t learned anything about who attacked the dragonlit nest and, on top of it all, we’re now hunted by the Rei City police. There’s nothing to be chipper about.

The mage reclined in the chair, which had plush, red cushions, “Nyle didn’t kill us and the police haven’t captured us. That’s something to be happy about. You really shouldn’t worry, things will always turn out okay.”

Suddenly, the doors to the lavish dining room opened and a priest with two officers walked in. So much for that reassurance, the dragonlit stated.

The priest came up to them, “What are you doing here? This place is for temple priests only. Besides, there has been a damaging battle in the main antechamber. The two culprits have escaped but there is no telling where they went to. It isn’t safe here.”

Summer had a hard time responding to the man. Don’t they know that it was us and Nyle in that battle? she asked Metanth.

Perhaps, he surmised, Nyle found away to clear our names.

Before they could talk anymore, one of the police officers grabbed her arm and gently, but forcefully, pulled her out of the chair. “You need to leave, for your own safety,” he stated. The metal dragonlit growled and jumped onto Summer, curling himself around her and surprising the three men.

“Don’t worry about him,” the girl said with a wave of her hand, “He’s harmless. Thank you for your warning, I’ll be sure to get to a safe spot.” With that, Summer and Metanth calmly walked out of the dining room and out of the damaged Temple of Lynne. “I can’t believe it,” she said as they walked out into the sunlight, which was fading into evening. She twirled a little, “That was so close, even I was a little nervous.”

Yes, that was close, then he sighed once more, But we are still no closer to finding who slaughtered by kin. His voice was filled with aggravation.

The drawynn petted her dragonlit, Don’t worry, Metanth. It’s a big world, you didn’t think we’d find the answer in the first city. We’ll find out who attacked the nest, I promise.